Award-winning blog – Living in rural Andalucia

Earth textures

Since we’ve lived here I’ve taken more notice of the soil, about the way it changes throughout the year. Now, in February, it’s mud, dark brown, claggy, sticking to our wellington boots, but only because it’s been raining. At this time of year it can be dry, cracked and pale. So, the season doesn’t matter, it’s the weather that makes the difference. It’s the texture of the soil which is pleasing. These four photographs were taken last year within a mile of each other, in the valley, in different months. We had not seen rain for some time. The cracked crust of the photo above is from the orchard, where the young trees lay within the reach of our irrigation system and the surface skim of water has created an intricate mosaic.

The soil in the next three photos has at some time been ploughed. Crumbly, like rubbing fat into flour when making a cake. 5 to rememberdesde entonces – sincelas botas – the wellington bootspálido/a – palecomplicado/a – intricateun mosaico – a mosaic

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8 thoughts on “Earth textures”

When I was a boy I used to like to go the Science Museum in London. There was a model that you worked by turning a wheel and it showed the three stages of ploughing through to tilling. I was thrilled to discover that it was still there when I took my own children there several years later!